“JFK”, this painting derived from photo in the Library of Congress public domain image base. 2.5 x 4 inches, acrylic on photo paper.

The second part of the diptych featuring the Westward Ho will be the image of John F. Kennedy.

On November 22, 1963, when he was hardly past his first thousand days in office, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was killed by an assassin’s bullets as his motorcade wound through Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was the youngest man elected President; he was the youngest to die.
Source: The White House

For me, the image of JFK evokes the personal feelings of a school girl hearing that announcement made. We all went home early. Children crying, parents crying, it was confusing and all too sad.

It’s hard to imagine, being a new-comer (well, is nine years new?) to Phoenix, that the Westward Ho once was our preeminent hotel.  I love learning about its past and its memorable guests, which included JFK.

Other reminders of the hotel’s heyday are found in an office operated by Erling Eaton, a resident who serves as the Westward Ho’s historian. He said he started collecting artifacts due to his curiosity about whether Monroe had once stayed in his room.

Some of the memories include photographs of John F. Kennedy giving a speech outside the hotel and Margaret Truman, the president’s daughter, sitting in the Kida Club.
Source: Tucson Citizen Morgue

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